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Poet Turning Into Heech

Parviz Tanavoli Iranian-Canadian
2007
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 450
For decades, sculptor and scholar Parviz Tanavoli has worked between his native Iran, the United States, and Canada. One of the founders of the Saqqakhana School, whose followers focused on the intersection of contemporary practices with traditional Persian folk art forms, Tanavoli began to create his legendary heech sculptures in the early 1960s. The heeches are sculptural renditions of the Persian word for "nothing". Originally created as a reaction against the Saqqakhana School, which he felt had lost its purity and become increasingly commercialized, these sculptures are deeply rooted in Rumi's mystical poetry, visualizing the Sufi belief that God creates everything from nothing. They are optimistic, whimsical, and anthropomorphic renditions of "nothing" as it sits on chairs, emerges out of cages, or envelops a poet.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Poet Turning Into Heech
  • Artist: Parviz Tanavoli (Iranian-Canadian, born Tehran, 1937)
  • Date: 2007
  • Geography: Made in Canada, West Vancouver
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: H. 89 13/16 in. (228.1 cm)
    W. 22 13/16 in. (57.9 cm)
    D. 25 1/2 in. (64.8 cm)
    Wt. 594 lbs. (269.4 kg)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, 2011 NoRuz at The Met Benefit, 2012
  • Object Number: 2012.39
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Parviz Tanavoli
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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